Confederate Monuments Taken Down in Overnight Operation

Following the harmful attack that took place during the counter-protest of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a national debate has been sparked. During the weekend’s violence, 3 people were killed and many other injured.

The reason that the white nationalists were meeting in the first place was to protest the removal of a Confederate monument. Now, a great debate has started about whether it is justifiable to keep similar monuments up around the country.

Early Wednesday morning, the city of Baltimore decided that they would remove all of the city’s Confederate statues. A crew including a large crane and several police officers began making rounds of the city’s parks, tearing down the monuments.

Baynard Woods, the editor at large of the Baltimore City Paper, documented the removals via Twitter. He noted the “celebratory” mood.

https://twitter.com/baynardwoods/status/897727192523788289

https://twitter.com/baynardwoods/status/897743931781337093

Woods said that the police were cheerful and encouraged people to take photos and selfies to document the moment.

https://twitter.com/AlecMacGillis/status/897724479325032448

The removal of the statues followed a decision made on Monday by a City Council vote. The mayor suggested that the four statues might be relocated to Confederate cemeteries elsewhere.

While some cheered about the removal, others claimed that the monuments needed to be destroyed as well.

One city councilman said, “These people were terrorists. They were traitors. Why are we honoring them?”

On the other side of the debate, many believe that the removal of these monuments around the country is a removal of our country’s history and simply trying to erase the past. The statues have caused much controversy, which is presumably why Baltimore decided to be stealthy in their overnight operation.